This past summer, I worked on two different projects through Social Science Scholars. During the initial part of the summer, I worked on my Honors Thesis and IDEA grant research project in the region of Catalonia focused on the region’s declaration of independence. On the latter half of the summer, I became a Lex fellow…
Category: Politics
Research: Trump, Masculinity and the Presidency
Pierce Dignam uses interview data to reveal how masculinity mattered in the 2016 election, and how it may matter again in future contests.
Social Science Scholar: Michigan Department of State
My internship and broader experience within the Social Science Scholars program helped me gain a clearer focus on my plans post-graduation. I have decided to use my fourth and final year as an undergraduate at Florida State to fulfill requirements for dual degrees in Political Science and Spanish. I already intended to pursue a graduate degree, but some of my conversations with executive staff during my internship led me to reconsider my program of study, and to shift away from political science and toward data science. My ultimate goal is to work in either state or federal government, or as a researcher at a think tank, and to be able to use both my political science background and my data science skills to craft robust, empirically-derived public policy.
The Measurement and Importance of Economic Freedom
Since the initial publication of the Economic Freedom of the World report in 1996, numerous scholarly studies have used the data to examine the impact of economic freedom on investment, economic growth, income levels, and poverty rates. Virtually without exception, these studies have found that countries with institutions and policies more consistent with economic freedom have higher investment rates, more rapid economic growth, higher income levels, and a more rapid reduction in poverty rates.
Survey Research and the Politics of Old Age Welfare
A recent paper appearing in Theory in Action, co-authored by William R. Earnest and FSU Sociology Professor Irene Padavic and supported by FSU’s Pepper Center on Aging, tackles a flawed proposal from Robert Binstock about minimizing intergeneration conflict over elderly benefits and uses it to analyze how assumptions grounded in interest group liberalism inform current…
Are Gun Owners Cowards?
Many Americans are under the impression that gun owners are overcome by fear. This idea is everywhere, in news articles and editorials, scientific research, social media, blockbuster films, and other forms of popular culture.
How Labor Unions Increase Political Knowledge: Evidence from the United States
This work has important implications. Organized labor has declined dramatically over the past several decades, due in part to economic globalization, but also by the policy decisions made by the federal and state governments. Of all the factors that are correlated with political knowledge, such as: age, education, gender, race, income, and interest in politics, union membership is the only one that can feasibly be influenced by politicians. Policies that weaken labor unions may end up depriving people, particularly those with less formal education, not only of a source of political mobilization, but also an important source of political information.
New Abortion Laws Contribute to Sexist Environments that Harm Everyone’s Health
This piece first appeared in The Conversation. Nine states have passed laws in 2019 alone that restrict abortion at the earliest stages of pregnancy. Those of us who study public health are becoming increasingly concerned about the potential for negative health consequences of these kinds of policies on women. That’s because research has shown that laws limiting reproductive rights and services…
3 ways China benefits from the Hong Kong protests
This piece first appeared on The Conversation. The summer of 2019 has seen week after week of protest in Hong Kong. The protests began June 9 when as many as a million people marched against a bill that could allow suspects to be extradited to China. Hong Kong’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, who was appointed by Chinese Premier…
Featured Blog by Award-Winning Faculty: Shared Histories
As the Lieutenant-Governor’s Medal highlights, this is a story with broader purchase. Focusing on a particular place, Shared Histories highlights how racial injustices developed through the complex mixture of local, provincial, and federal policies. But it also registers the possibility of implementing different policies and building different relationships. It is important to share the story of Indiantown, so it does not happen again. So we can learn from it and create a new and different future.
